Gujarat Cong leader Solanki tests Covid-19 positive

Solanki, former Minister in the UPA II government, was the second nominee from the Congress for one of the four Rajya Sabha seats.

"Solanki was feeling unwell on Sunday. He got himself checked for Covid-19 on Monday. His test came out positive. He was rushed to the Banker Hospital in Vadodara," said Manish Doshi, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) spokesperson.

He lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) third candidate Narhari Amin by falling 4.20 votes short of the required 34.202 votes. He got 30 votes while Amin secured a win with 35.60 votes.

Following Solanki's test report, Shaktisinh Gohil, his fellow nominee who won the lone Rajya Sabha seat for the Congress from Gujarat, quarantined himself in Delhi.

Gohil was preparing to visit Bihar on Monday. Solanki and Gohil accompanied each other throughout the Rajya Sabha elections day on Friday.

Solanki, a former GPCC chief in 2006-2008 and 2015-2018, was a minister of state for drinking water and sanitation (independent charge) from October 2012 to May 2014. He was also the minister of state for railways from January 2011 to October 2012 and the minister of state for power from June 2009 to January 2011.

Solanki represented the Anand Lok Sabha seat from 2004 to 2014.